Electric Fire
by Fidget
Summary: When Fidget has a shocking experience, her entire world is turned upsidedown. Chapter 5! Finally! Not exactly productive, but plot thickening. Like corn starch.
1. Crash Landing

Electric Fire

Electric Fire

__

By Fidget

To Lady Icecubes, who asked for this fic months ago. Sorry for the delay, darling.

****

Chapter 1

Fidget paced angrily back and forth in Big Air, the hatch open beside her. She was leaning against the side with her arms crossed, a look of unmistakable ill temperament on her face. _Stupid Alex, with his super hero duties. Stupid Dr. X, with his making Alex have super hero duties. Stupid me, for not just sneaking a ride anyway…_

Her thoughts had changed very little over the course of the past five minutes. Alex had leapt out the hatch in pursuit of his twisted rival, making sure everyone else stayed on Big Air. Fidget had asked, demanded, yelled, stomped, and generally thrown a fit over not being allowed to come, and finally just thumped around the room for a moment before returning to the side of the hatch to stew over how annoying they could all be sometimes.

She did not know where Alex was at the moment, he had jumped out and she hadn't bothered to look in her flustered state. Truth be told, she didn't know for sure where the other members were, although they were definitely still on the plane. She kicked the wall behind herself, hearing with bitter enjoyment the metallic clang of the panel she had hit.

As if in response to her hit, the ship bucked. She straightened; her arms were tensely at her sides and her hands balling slowly into fists. A plastic cup rolled off the table and clattered on the ground. Big Air jostled again, harder this time, and Fidget tipped to one side. She caught her balance and ran quickly to the other side of the room, her eyes darting from one place to the next in search of anything helpful in any way. Something to hold on to, or some explanation of the plane's wild movements. As suddenly as before, Big Air pulled sideways, tipping the floor at an insane slant. But unlike before, if continued around one full circle. The plastic cup flew across the floor, hit the ceiling in a brain-teasing diagonal movement, and flipped neatly out of site through the open hatch.

The hatch!

Fidget realized the how bad the situation really was and grappled wildly for a grip on something. Her hands tipped over anything still on the counters and found nothing solid. Desperately she snatched the edge of the counter top and held on hard enough to hurt her palms in moments. The plane flipped the opposite direction, then back again without rest. She felt her slippery hands sliding off the slick Formica, and then she was flying.

She could see the hatch wide open like a mouth before her, knew she would careen straight through it. She shut her eyes tight, to scared to watch, scared because she knew how long it took to reach the ground even without a parachute at these heights. She knew there would be several seconds at least of sickening dread as the ground came up at her…

She hit something hard. Well, she thought it would be several seconds at least. And she thought it would kill her. She opened her eyes, one at a time, and saw that she had hit directly next to the hatch. She had hit the wall! She giggled convulsively in her relief, and drew her knees up to her chest. The hatch was a good foot behind her, she had missed!

"Fidget? _Fidget?!_" Rikki's panicky voice was wonderful to her as he rushed in with his hands on the doorframe. His eyes dashed about the room and found her giggling like a maniac beside the door. He sighed. "Come on, get up here out of the-"

Big Air turned sharply upwards, tilting the deck backwards. Rikki grabbed ahold of the doorframe with both hands and managed to stay put as his feet were swept out from under him. Fidget, however, gasped as she toppled backward straight out the open hatch.

She stared blankly at the belly of Big Air, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly. Such sudden switches of emotion were muddling her overloaded brain and kept it locked shut for a few seconds before acknowledging the fact that she was falling to her death. As soon as that thought had been processed sufficiently, she screamed. Her hair whipped around her face and stung her eyes as she fell backward, and her stomach seemed to leap up into the air and leave her feeling woozy and sick.

She felt a sudden jolt, and her scream was cut short as her jaw closed suddenly and her teeth cut into her tongue. She squinched her eyes shut and waited for the pain to dull, for the moment preoccupied. The moment it did so, her mind began flashing warnings in bright red. Sitting?! Where?! Dead?! ARGH!

She looked down, seated with her legs out in front of her and her hands next to them.

Nothing.

She was sitting in the middle of the sky, with nothing holding her up at all. Not even a cloud. She felt immediately dizzier than before, and gave an involuntary wavering distress call. Her hand rose up to help balance, but slammed down again as she tipped that direction. Where it hit, purply ripples spread. She stopped balancing, and watched them become fainter and fainter as they spread out for amazingly long. She stood unsteadily, and stomped. The ripples were wider and darker this time, and continued on farther without fading. The purple showed an odd shape to her right, and she stomped comically over towards the bump.

When she was within a few feet of it, she could see that it was actually a ladder. She carefully placed one foot on a rung, then the other, and made her way down the side slowly and deliberately. When she had gone down about fifteen rungs (she couldn't tell how far up or down it she was proportionally), the purple-blue shimmered into view. The ladder appeared under her hands, and her eyes shot up and down the thing she was climbing.

X's blimp!

How could she have forgotten? His blimp had a cloaking device, and she had landed squarely on the top. She looked down; an entrance was just below her and she swung through it, kicking in the panel. Perhaps it was fate, she thought. She had wanted in, and now she was. She crawled through a small access tunnel and came out in an empty hall. _Well, here goes nothing_, she thought, and proceeded down the hall.

*

Tempest was screaming at the top of his lungs, waving his lightning rods and blasting random bits of machinery to pieces. Dr. X and Alex had fought their way into a side room, but Templeton Storm was off in a rage, growling as well as he could and spontaneously cringing and glowing blue. He was about to launch another volley, when movement on one of the monitors caught his eye. He lowered his lightning rods and slipped over to it.

It was a young woman. She was stalking down one of the back halls, used mostly for storage and repairs. She walked with the deliberately wide stance and long stride of one who wishes they were taller; her clothes, facial expression, and exaggeratedly swinging hips suggested someone who found themselves to 'hip' to handle.

He had seen her before; she was one of Team Extreme's members. What was she doing here? He decided to leave X and Alex to their dueling and catch her unexpected. A bargaining chip, perhaps. He sprinted off down a corridor.

*

Fidget walked more slowly, placing her feet down as quietly as she could. She could hear a scuffle, and was ready to bet it was Alex and X. If she were to suddenly appear, she might be able to help! But for her surprise attack to work, she'd have to sneak up.

Her heart pounded in her ears, getting louder and louder. She swallowed, and took a few more steps. The heartbeat grew louder and louder, and seemed to be surrounding her. She covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly, almost curling into herself, when a sudden pressure was applied to her waist and her feet left the ground.

Her eyes shot open immediately, and she started to scream, but a strong hand covered her mouth and nose. She turned her head back and forth and tried to escape its grip, but it followed her. Then at last, she looked up at her captor.

_Tempest?_

She yelled something rude behind his hand, and spit on it. He let go of her mouth and made a noise of angry disgust, wiping his hand on her leg. She glared at him and kicked, now past her shock and trying to fight back. That's what she'd come for, right? The hand that had been holding her mouth grabbed her legs with its entire arm, and Fidget wriggled, helpless and almost immobile. She yelled at him, growling a little herself.

Tempest realized something had to be done soon if he was to make her an actual prisoner. If Action-breath was going to take him seriously, she needed to be in some sort of immediate danger. Being barely contained in his grasp didn't seem to have the right effect.

He took off running down the corridor again, carrying the physically and verbally protesting Fidget along with him. He soon saw a door on the left side of the hall, and remembered that it was a storage room. He slammed it open with his elbow and ran inside, then shut it and leaned against it.

Fidget had twisted around in his grasp until she had a clear shot. She gave a crooked but effective kick to between Tempest's legs, and he dropped her flat on the floor with a yelp. She rolled sideways until she was on her stomach, then crawled behind a pile of junk.

Tempest recovered (partially) from his injury and his eyes darted from place to place within the room.

"Come _out_, you little brat!" he cried, pulling out his lightning rods. He blasted a pile of old machinery across the room. Fidget heard the pile burn and fall, and gulped.

****

A/N: I know, I know, short chapter. I just wanted it up and stockin' away the reviews. Okay, anyway. HexadecimalBuh-Bye-yee!/Hexadecimal


	2. Feria

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

Tempest roared again, and she nearly laughed. His voice sounded ready to crack at any moment. Her rather desperate predicament kept her silent, however, and she hoped he would leave. 

He did not leave. He spotted the glint in her eye and leapt over to her, knocking the junk pile away with a swing of his arm. She yelled, and swung her leg in a circular motion. It knocked one leg out from under him, and he wobbled on the other for a few moments. Fidget used the precious time to rush past him for the door. 

As she reached it, it swung outward and a green clad figure stepped through. 

"What's all the racket abou-" Asazi's sentence was cut short as Fidget plowed straight into her and knocked them both to the ground with a small 'oof!' They stood up quickly, glaring at each other. Asazi drew her crossbow, and Fidget turned to dive for cover in the small room. Tempest, who had once again gained his balance and headed up behind her, was the second victim of this small, redheaded missile. He, however, did not fall to the ground, or even let out more than a grunt as some of the air was forced from his lungs with the power of her impact. 

Fidget berated herself a moment for her obviously malfunctioning peripheral vision, and tried to run again. She found a strong arm under her arm and back up around her shoulder, and Tempest growled. She hung her entire body weight off his arm, grabbing it with both her hands and lifting up her feet, but he held her small mass up easily. She shrieked again, and without setting her feet down, she bit into the arm holding her, breaking the skin. She fought against gagging as his blood ran on to her tongue, but he dropped her quickly on to the floor. She dropped flat on her backside, and blinked. The sudden fall had rattled her somewhat panicky brain. She reached up and grasped one of the lightning rods in hopes of figuring out how it worked and rendering both of X's minions unconscious. She wrenched it from his grasp and held it in both hands, her eyes darting from Tempest to Asazi. 

"Watch it, pea-brains!" She cried, brandishing the lightning rod. "I'm armed and dangerous!" 

Tempest laughed out loud. The weapon in Fidget's hands wavered uncertainly. 

"You can't use that!" He cried, still laughing through his words. "All they do is focus and direct my own electricity!" 

He aimed his own lightning rod at Fidget, who held up hers as a futile shield. He blasted the energy, and it jumped to the rod in her hands. She gave a gasp, convulsed, and dropped the rod. She fell to the floor herself, and twitched spastically. Asazi and Tempest rushed over and examined her, the former holding two fingers to her neck. 

"She's alive," Asazi confirmed, straightening up again. "We should take her to X now, he could use her as bait." 

Tempest whirled around to face her, anger showing in all his features. "I had it under control, you didn't need to try and help!" He yelled. Asazi brushed the drops of spit from her face with a look of disgust before replying. 

"Please, if I hadn't walked through, she would have escaped without a problem." She cut off Tempest's next protest before it began by holding up a finger. "No more arguing, let's get her to X before she goes into a coma or something." 

"Electrocuting someone won't put them into a coma!" Tempest interjected. "It'll only-" 

"I said 'or something'!" 

Tempest took Fidget's head, Asazi took her feet, and they carried her silently to the lab. 

"You know, I could carry her myself. It's not like she weighs anything." 

"Will you shut _up_! You are _the_ most strong-headed brat of a kid-" 

"_Don't call me a kid!_" 

Nearly silently. 

* 

Big Air dipped swiftly downward, a rope ladder swung out from the bottom. Alex grabbed on to it quickly, and was lifted into the air. He climbed in, expecting the usual mottled praise, but found only worried faces. Well, a worried face from Grinder, a panicky face from Rikki, and… 

"Where's Fidget? 

Rikki's hyperventilating became audible, and he rushed up to Alex in a high-pitched frenzy of explanation and questions. 

"She-fell-out-of-the-hatch-and-I-couldn't-see-her-oh-god-Alex-what-do-we-_do?!_" 

Alex held up his hands to bring the tumble of words to a halt. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Fidget fell out the _hatch_? As in, towards the _ground_?" 

  
Rikki nodded jerkily. 

Alex swallowed. "You couldn't do anything?" 

Rikki looked at his feet, as if they could provide an answer to his problem. "No. I…I just thought…" He sighed from the bottom of the toes that occupied his sight. "I don't know what I thought. I just can't believe it. I mean, she was there, just giggling, and then…" 

He fell forward in a gasping sob, and Alex caught him. Rikki bawled loudly, and Grinder followed Rikki's original plan of pedi-observation. 

"We should go look for the body, then." He said softly, and Rikki whimpered. Alex nodded. 

"Yeah. I still can't believe I wasn't there to help…" He looked from one person to the other, and noticed Rikki's wide eyes. "Let's go." 

* 

Fidget awoke. She was lying on a cold tabletop, and her ears were ringing fiercely. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to send the ringing away and leave her mind free, then surveyed her surroundings. She was in a laboratory, and instruments lined the walls. She frowned at the blinking lights on the consoles, and slid off the smooth metal platform. Marveling at the fact that they had once again left her alone, she walked as silently as she could towards the door. 

"You don't think we'd just let you leave." 

She turned on her heal and searched for the source of the voice. Tempest straightened from where he'd been leaning against a wall, and stepped forward a few paces. Fidget took a wide stance and her hands balled into fists. 

"Don't even start with me, kid." She snarled, and Tempest growled and gritted his teeth. 

"_Don't_ call me…a kid!" He cried, but took a breath to calm himself. He smiled again, and Fidget raised an eyebrow suspiciously. 

"My electricity had a rather shocking side effect," he started, then paused briefly. Fidget snorted. 

"Cute pun, now get on with it, already." 

Tempest was disappointed that she hadn't thought it was clever, but kept talking. "We don't know much about it yet, but if you want a physical sign, there's a mirror." 

He watched Fidget's reaction as she thought of a change in appearance. Her eyes widened, and her hands shot up to her hair almost immediately, then down over the rest of her body. The hands were delicate; they waist the skimmed over was slim and well shaped… 

What? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts which had taken such an odd turn so suddenly. When he looked again, Fidget had rushed in the direction he had pointed in. 

It wasn't a mirror, really. Only a steel panel. But the steel had been buffed to a high shine, and reflected the general appearance of the rest of the room. Fidget slammed into it with her arms out in front of her, and stood straight to peer at herself. But she didn't seem able to focus her eyes or something, all she saw was a peach blob and something yellowish… 

Tempest smirked as he heard the scream she issued upon realization. She came skidding across the polished floor and slammed her fists into his chest. "You _freak!_" she shrieked, shaking all over and beating on him futily. "My _hair_! What the hell did you do to my _hair_?! What's going on?!" 

He grabbed her arms and held them up. She frowned up at him, too angry to care that she was being held captive. Tempest never stopped smiling, which only served to annoy her further. 

"The hair is only a small side effect of what I _think_ happened to you," he explained, saying each word slowly and deliberately, as if speaking to a child. Fidget strained harder against his grip. "Don't push, and I'll explain!" 

Fidget considered a moment, but took a seat on the metal bench once more. Tempest smirked again, he had total control over this chick. 

"When the electricity leaves my body and shoots out of the lightning rods, it turns from my own bio-electricity into regular electricity, right?" He waited for her to answer. She didn't, and he continued anyway. "It does. Anyway, because it's only electricity when it hits people, it has only the usual effects. But because you were holding a lightning rod as well, it was converted back into _my_ electricity before it entered your body. This completely changed the outcome of the shock, and had very unusual effects, indeed." He let his eyes trail up and down her height, and she squirmed under his gaze. 

"So, what exactly are these 'unusual effects'?" Fidget queried, wanting very much for his focus to be her eyes again, and not a certain other pair of organs. Tempest snapped back into focus again, and looked slightly disgruntled at the question. 

"Well, I'm not completely sure as of now. My best calculations, however, show that you may have the same powers as I do." 

Fidget frowned yet again. "You mean _I'm_ one of you freaks now? This is great, just great. You wait until I tell Alex about this," she added with sudden accusation. "He will rip you apart and mail you across the continent!"

Tempest shook his head. "Will he? Do you really think he'll accept you now?"

**A/N:** So? How's the story so far? A hint or two of what's to come? Short, I know, but I haven't had a lot of time to write. Blame school, not me!


	3. MAD

Chapter 3 ****

Chapter 3

__

I would like to dedicate this chapter to all the victims of the recent terrorism and their families/friends. My heart goes out to you.

Fidget's face crinkled. "What're you talking about?"

"Well, look at you." Tempest gestured towards her body, and she looked down. Her skin had taken on an almost glowing quality, and she could still picture her hair in all its startling pale blonde-ness. Her clothes looked flat and dull against her oddly bright complexion. She swallowed.

"They won't care," she said, but the determined sureness was considerably weakened. "They'll blame you, you'll get yours!"

The clacking of heels echoed in to the room, and Fidget and Tempest both turned. Asazi appeared in the doorway. She smiled at Fidget.

"So, you've spotted that facelift. Believe me, blonde is _not_ your color."

"Obviously, it wasn't yours either!" Fidget spat venomously. Asazi shrugged, a look of infuriating smugness defining her features. Fidget shook, appearing ready to leap on to Asazi and tear her to bits. Tempest, wanting his spotlight back, cleared his throat loudly. Both females turned to glare at him. He cringed slightly, but stood his ground.

"She still needs to lie down. We don't know how severe the effects may be!" He yelled at Asazi over Fidget's head, and Fidget turned to him looking as if these people were not hostile enemies to humanity, but only aggravating partners.

"I do _not_ need to lie down!" she insisted, and her frown seemed set permanently into her face. Tempest glared back at her.

"What if there's serious damage?! Do you _want_ to be paralyzed for the rest of your life?!"

"If there were serious damage, wouldn't I feel something?" she queried, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one hip. Tempest growled slightly.

"Not if you were paralyzed. Paralysis makes you numb to whatever area is below the injury!"

Fidget blew a fuse. "_If I were paralyzed, would I be moving?!_" 

Asazi stood back, watching the two of them face-off. It was odd; there was something about the two of them. It was as easy to picture them destroying each other as to picture them in a passionate embrace. She smiled. _If things go according to plan, there may very well be a new source of entertainment around here_, she thought, and walked unnoticed out of the room again.

*

Alex flew Little Air across the empty space for the fifth time, nearly skidding the belly of the plane over the dirt. The body was nowhere to be found. Not even a scrap of clothes or (heaven forbid) anything else that could hint its existence. He shook his head and steered the plane back into the dock in Big Air.

Inside, Rikki and Grinder waited for his return. Even Vinnie had turned up to pace across the table in his most agitated way. As Alex entered, Rikki practically tackled him.

"Did you find her?! Where is she?! Where _was_ she?! _Why aren't you answering me?!_"

Alex pushed Rikki away as gently as he could while still being effective. "Calm down, Rik. I couldn't find her body…" He lowered his head and shaded his eyes with his hand. Rikki looked almost hopeful.

"If you couldn't find it, maybe she's still alive! Maybe something happened and she's okay!" He looked from one companion to the next. "Right?"

"Come off it, Rik." said Grinder quietly. Rikki dropped his head, and all was silent once again.

*

Fidget still had the frown on into the day. She sat on the tabletop as Tempest explained his theories on her condition, painstakingly drawing out each detail into its own boring explanation. Fidget had long since ceased to listen to him, and instead only glared at his face. He had done this to her. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was his fault. How dare he electrocute her in the first place? Even if that stupid rod had worked for her, she wouldn't actually have shot either Tempest or Asazi.

Would she?

Her own thoughts made her eyes come open a little more. A few hours ago, she would have said a definite no, she wouldn't kill another human being. Even a sub-standard one. But now, she felt an enhanced hostility towards them for doing this to her, then keeping her locked up in this sterile-smelling room all made of steel. She even felt mad at Alex for not doing anything to find her. _Come on, Fidge,_ she told herself._ He's probably trying to find someway to sneak in and wisk you away while no one's looking._ She frowned again, wishing he'd hurry up whatever he was doing and get her away from this infuriatingly boring child.

She looked up at Tempest again, and was surprised to find he'd stopped talking and was staring back. It made her angry to think he could have been staring at her for any amount of time without her noticing, and she hopped off the table and over to him, swinging her fist into his side in a burst of fury.

"Hey, calm down!" He said, shoving her slight mass away with one arm. She growled and strained against the arm, swinging her fists at him over and over. Tempest laughed at her little show. Was she always this feisty? Or, was it something else?

"Come sit over here." he commanded, pointing to a chair. When she did not oblige, she shoved her into it and slapped her cheek to keep her still. This idea was worth investigating, and he went to get a few pieces of equipment.

The slap had served its purpose. Fidget sat in the cold metal chair, holding her cheek with a dumbfounded expression. He had slapped her. Right in the face. His hands had stung her cheek and a tear involuntarily welled up in the corner of the eye above the spot. She blinked it away hurriedly, and slammed both arms on to the sides of the chair. That had made her _mad_. Everything was making her mad. She glanced at the chair. Steel, of course. Steel made her angry, too. _Jeez, it's like the worst case of P.M.S. I ever heard of!_ she thought, and took a breath to calm herself down.


	4. Short Riders on the Storm

Chapter 4 ****

Chapter 4

Alex had called authorities about Fidget's death and explained the details as close as any member could come to them. Evidently, there was no other family or friends to notify except for Candice, who took it harder even than Rikki.

"She was so _young_!" the twin sister was heard to cry once she had been informed of Fidget's death. Grinder cast a side-glance at Alex, who shrugged.

"Candy," Alex started cautiously. "We're willing to help with any, ah…arrangements. Just call if you need any help."

Candy nodded silently, and left quickly. Alex sighed and beckoned to the rest of the team. "Might as well find your black suits, guys."

*

Fidget's breath came in irregular patterns. Tempest had hooked her to several different machines with wires on sticky pads, and was also monitoring her eyes with an even more aggravating invention that hung in front of her face and shone bright light into one eye. She gripped the arm rests of the steel chair spasmodically with both hands, because she was strapped in and didn't have much other way to let out her anger. Her fingernails screeched across the cold metal more than once, and her teeth ground.

Tempest watched the readouts with interest. Her pupils dilated, heartbeat quickened, temperature rose. This girl was majorly pissed off. And another reading puzzled him even more. Something that didn't really fit in anywhere, but strengthened quickly. He glanced over the monitor at her, and she sent a glare back at him. She mumbled something, but her teeth were clenched so tightly closed that the words fuzzed together. He smirked at her anger.

Fidget felt as if a high fever had set in. The bright light shone through her eyelids in red, the eyes themselves burned in her skull. Her mouth was dry, and sweat popped up in beads all over her body. She panted for air, feeling as if she were in an oven. The metal of the chair burned and seared her skin where they touched directly. A sudden sensation that she had burst into flame, and she screamed what had to be her dying breath.

Tempest leapt back from the console as the monitors blew out and the control panels threw sparks. He looked back up quickly.

Fidget threw back her head and twisted and writhed in the chair. Her hair was damp, and her skin glistened for a moment before flashing to transparent blue. He watched her with his mouth open slightly until she fell back in the chair again, with her skin completely visible and her breathing audible. Her hair was limp and stringy on the sides of her face; her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. He walked over to her slowly, without even knowing what he was doing, and stared dumbly at her.

She swallowed hard, and opened her eyes slowly. Her head turned upwards to look back at him.

"What the hell just happened?" she gasped out, and Tempest smiled slightly.

"I think it's obvious," he started, still amazed at what he had just witnessed.

"Well, do you mind stating the obvious?! I must have missed something!" she rasped harshly.

"You…you have the same powers as me!" he cried, realizing he didn't have a term for his ability yet. His smiled faded to an expression of awe, and he slowly tilted his head skyward. "You've connected with the storm."

Fidget watched his upturned face for a moment, a look of disgust tugged at one corner of her lip. "Connected with the storm? You mean, I can do that…that electric thing?"

Tempest frowned. "Yes. You can do 'that electric thing'. Your vocabulary is astonishing."

Fidget snorted. "_Your_ vocabulary frosts me over."

"You're juvenile!"

"_I'm_ juvenile?! You're fourteen!"

Tempest clenched his fists. "Are you _always_ this impossible?!"

Fidget grinned. "Yes, and I plan to say that way. You got a problem with it?"

"Definitely not."

The reply had rolled off his tongue before he had time to think. He shot a glance back to her, and saw she had diverted her attention to something on the floor. "I mean, it may be a problem later on, but…"

"You're not a very good liar. You're not too smooth, either."

Tempest swallowed. "I have a few duties I need to get to. I'll just be leaving." He walked briskly out the door.

Fidget sighed exasperatedly. Great, on top of everything else, she had some freshman kid with his eyes on her. Just what she needed.

"I'm in deep water now, huh Vi-"

Her gaze had fallen downwards as she spoke, and she realized that her reptilian friend was not within the usual three-foot range of her. She sighed again, and slouched downward. The world was a cruel place for short camerawomen that day.

__

[One month Later…]

Neither was the world kind to the rest of the Team. Candy had arranged a funeral without the offered help of Alex, Grinder, and Rikki, and today was the day. The weather had not even the decency to rain, but was swelteringly hot. Alex pulled at the collar of his suit.

"Couldn't it be rescheduled? Wearing an all black suit today is murder!"

Rikki straightened his jacket with a set look on his face. "I'd prefer to think of it as martyrdom."

Grinder said nothing, only sat and waited for the others to be ready.

As they headed out into the convertible, all were silent. Silent but for the slight panting they issued, that is. They climbed into the car, buckled up, and Grinder flipped on the air conditioner.

Nothing happened.

There was a collective groan, and Rikki, who had kept honorably silent about the discomfort and inconvenience, threw his hands into the air and cried out, "Why does this have to happen on top of everything else?!"

"Calm down, Rikki," said Alex, laying a reassuring hand on his manager's shoulder. "It'll be fine if we all keep calm."

"_How can I keep calm?!_" Rikki shrieked. "Right in the middle of our busiest season, right in the middle of all the scheduling and the planning…As if I weren't stressed enough before she up and died!"

Alex and Grinder stared at their friend and business partner. Rikki frowned deeper.

"Don't think I'm not _sorry_ she died! _Of course_ I'm upset! But I was _already_ upset and now I'm ready to _explode_!"

"Well, we best get going unless we want to be late." Grinder changed the subject deftly, striking what was and would always be a nerve for Rikki.

****

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm really busy with end-of-quarter projects. Stupid projects…Anyway, at least it was a somewhat productive chapter. BCNU in the near future, sugah!


	5. Raging Hormones?

**Chapter 5**

_Dedicated to SuperNova, for being the first person to sign up for the AMSA!_

_**A/N:** I do NOT own the lyrics to 'Crawling'. I'm using them in my story because I think they fit very well, and have no legal permission but a lot of love and respect!_

The funeral was typical and sappy. Candice stood up and recited a eulogy, her voice breaking every few words to the point of almost being annoying. Because of a severe lack of aquaintances, Candy had actually hired mourners. Alex and Grinder found it a might disturbing, but Rikki never commented. He spent most of the ceremony with his face buried in his hands, an odd sound floating up every now and again. Besides the professionals, there was one woman Alex didn't recognize and a homeless man with a bag of soda cans and a ragged blue beanie. He wondered the significance of the homeless man, but put it out of his mind for the time being.

Once the funeral was over, Candy stepped down and offered they go to her place and have some refreshments. Alex declined, speaking on Rikki's behalf with a 'we've got to be going, but thank you anyway.' On the way out, he stopped by the woman.

She wasn't exactly old, but wasn't young, either. In truth, she looked about 40, but her hair and eyes gave the appearance of someone much younger. She had a brightness in her eyes that suggested a rebeliousness not lost from her teenage years. Alex thought he'd seen the same look somewhere else...

The woman stood and held out her hand. "Tabitha St. Germain. I was Agnes' mother."

Alex shook her hand, placing at last the bright greenish-blue eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Tabitha dropped her head slightly, but looked up again within a few seconds. "Me, too. Don't loose hope, though, fellas." She added suddenly. "She's been presumed dead before, and they haven't found her body yet, if I'm not mistaken!"

This statement earned odd looks from all of the team, but she followed Candy out of the chapel. Alex, Grinder, and Rikki got back into the car and made their way back to Big Air.

*

Fidget had mostly given up hope of her friends rescuing her. Her thoughts about the rest of the team were resentful, even bitter, as she tried for the thousandth time to come up with a reason they wouldn't have come to get her yet.

_Maybe they've been captured by Dr. X, too, and I just haven't seen them._ This theory was improbable; she had been mostly turned loose as the days, then weeks, went by. She had wandered in and out of most rooms on the blimp without incident, one or two she had been thrown out of with the threat of death did she return.

Footsteps behind her brought her thoughts to the present. She turned around to see Tempest, and groaned involuntarily. She must have been correct in assuming he had a little thing for her to some degree, for he spent more time with her than anywhere else. Mostly he gave lectures on different things that soared above Fidget's understanding, and she frowned at him for boring her. This last didn't seem to hinder his interest, though, and he always continued despite her best scowling.

Today, he didn't talk, only sat on a chair facing her. She frowned anyway, his presence knawing at her patience like it always did. He slouched a little, uncharacteristically enough to rouse her attention.

"So," He began, picking at a fingernail almost avidly. "You never really talk about yourself."

She snorted derisively. "You never shut up long enough for me to get a syllable in. It's amazing there's enough air in the room for me to breathe once you get started."

Tempest lowered his eyebrows somewhat. "Yeah. Well, today I'll 'shut up long enough'. Now, tell me about yourself."

"What's this all about?" Fidget didn't trust the casual air of conversation he was taking. A sudden thought struck her. "I haven't got a clue where Alex and the team are headed!"

Now he definitely looked mad, and stood up quickly. "I didn't _ask_ where they were headed! All I asked about was a little personal info! Does every conversation with you have to be so frustratingly difficult?!

Fidget stood up, too, and shook with an anger to match or surpass his own. "Maybe it does! What are you gonna do about it, ya' big vibrator?!"

Asazi, in the room across the hall eavesdropping, snickered and covered her mouth.

Tempest looked outraged. "What kind of a name is that?!" He roared.

"You'll find out when you're older." Fidget said mockingly through her nose. She stuck out her tongue for a moment, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes with a stuck-up sort of dignity. Tempest clenched and unclenched his fists, grinding his teeth.

"_This!"_ He hissed finally, and with a single step he was on her. He grabbed her up in both his arms, pinning her own to her side, and kissed her full in the lips.

Fidget's eyes snapped open and she squirmed. Surprised, then anxious, then angry noises came from her and she fell on the floor when he released her. She coughed and spluttered for a moment, then spit on his feet. She glared up at him.

"_What the hell was that?!_" She demended, and wiped her mouth with her arm. Her bare arm did little good, and she bent over to use the front of her shirt. Tempest, about to reply, let his mouth hang open in mid-syllable as she pulled at the tight hem of her crop-top, her head bent over enough to render any chance of seeing something impossible. When she faced him again, she was disgusted at his stare. She clenched her teeth and growled, but her angry growling turned to frightened wails as her skin flickered transparent blue once again. When the storm let her go, she fell back on the floor and panted. Tempest smirked.

*

For the next few days, Fidget tried to avoid the teenage boy as much as possible. She wandered down long, barren halls much of the time, where he was unlikely to find her. She wasn't really sure why she ws avoiding him, once she thought about it.

_So he won't do it again._

Would he do it again?

_Probably, yes._

And it was a serious threat?

_What was that supposed to mean?_

He's only 14. Raging hormones are apt to pull weird crap like that.

_(pause)_

You're wasting your energy avoiding him.

_Fine. Have it your way._

She went back to her makeshift quarters, a cleaned-out closet. She flipped on the bare, swinging bulb and examined her little room again. A slippery, nylon cot with an equally slippery nylon sleeping bag against the far wall. A folded towel for a pillow. A radio/alarm crammed beside the cot on the floor.

Even these few objects filled the doubly-small room, and Fidget sighed and lay down warily on her side on the cot. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tucked her hands under the towel for more support, then grappled at the nub of a doorknob on the inside. Her eyes were opened very wide, and she stared at the hinge on the door without blinking until her eyes cried out for moisture. Tears welled up in her eyelids, comforting where they touched her lens, but she blinked and wiped them away. Her gaze and hand dropped towards the radio/alarm and she spun the volume dial up. An almost mournful voice filled the her ears.

_Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me._

Distracting, reacting.

Against my will I stand beside my own reflection.

It's haunting how I can't seem

To find myself again, my walls are closing in...

**Without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take!**

I've felt this way before,

So-

She turned the volume back down. That was really all she needed, a depressing song. She turned her face flat against the pillow and closed her eyes.

_My life's a wreck._

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, ev'yone. Sorry I haven't posted anything for a long time. No hard feelings, right? Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter. I usually refrain from using song lyrics in my fics, I find it a little tacky, but in this case I thought it fit. Plus, I'm listening to the CD right now (that couldn't have anything to do with it, right?). I'm probably writing the next chapter as you read, because I have no life whatsoever and spend any spare time I have or cheat to have, writing. One more thing: No, Fidget's not going suicidal like that one piece of trash I wrote a while back. It's gone, I think. And yes, I did have a little fun with Fidget's mom's name. Anybody who's done any **research** knows what I'm talking about. :)

_And a little self-promotion..._

Authors, Poets, Artists! Go join the AMSA> for a very BIG chance to WIN! We are in dire need of contestants!


	6. Confused

**Chapter 6**

**A/N:** Yeah, I know it's been forever. Sorry about that. I think I just couldn't stand writing any more of Tempest's awkward attempts at catching Fidget's attention. Plus, there was all this S4 stuff going on for ReBoot... So anyway, I'm sorry, and I hope you enjoy this as an apology.

Alex, Grinder and Rikki had tried to go back to a regular life. A new camera-woman had been appointed, a scrawny, freckled girl named Darla who was overly excited about her new job. She had taken a bit to Grinder (taken a bit in the sense of growing on him), who's never-ending patience was put to the test with his new appendage. Rikki and Alex often exchanged pitying glances at her ignorant statements. Life had changed, and it was time to accept it.

Rikki found Alex in the kitchen area one day about two months after Fidget's fall and leaned casually against a cupboard door. Alex continued in his activities of stirring something until Rikki's persistent silence drew his attention.

"What's up, Rik?"

"Oh, nothing much," Rikki replied casually. "Say, Alex," He added too suddenly for it to be a revelation. "I had an idea. They never found her body, right?"

Alex eyed him again, suspicious. "Right..." He agreed slowly.

"So, maybe that one thing that happened to you happened to her."

Now, Alex was definitely curious. "What thing, Rikki?"

"Well, you know, that one time when you fell on X's blimp. Maybe she fell on his blimp and was okay!"

"Rikki, don't you think we would have gotten some sort of threat from X by now if that were the case?" Alex held his friend's shoulders as Rikki looked about to crumple.

"Well, yeah. But maybe...maybe _he_ doesn't know she's there, either!"

"Rikki-"

"No, but think about it! Maybe she's been hiding out this entire time! Akex, I think we should go and see!"

"**Rikki!** You're just getting excited chasing wild geese. Calm down and look at the real deal here. You're getting your hopes up."

Rikki looked back and forth, literally searching for an answer. "It's not me, it's...Vinnie!" He grabbed the disgruntled reptile off the table and held him up in Alex's face. "Alex, I'm worried about him. He's taking the loss very hard, he hasn't been himself since!"

Vinnie yawned, blinked, and tasted the air.

Alex pushed Rikki's hands down. "Rikki, you need some help."

Rikki tossed Vinnie down on to the table again, the latter making a anxious noise as he flew. Rikki grabbed Alex's shoulders and looked very serious. "Just say we can go in there. I'll go with you! Alex, I could never live with myself if I thought she was in there and we didn't help."

Alex sighed. "Fine. But I really think this is crazy, Rik. If it'll help you, I'll do it."

Rikki smiled, and grabbed Alex around the arms in a hug. "Thank you!"

"Uh, no problem."

*

Fidget had become almost accustomed to her new home, and her new 'team'. Asazi had somewhat lost her venemous edge and accepted Fidget as much as she had accepted anyone else. Verbal battles took place often, but they were _nearly_ in good humor. Tempest had begun to train a somewhat reluctant Fidget to use her newfound powers when and how she wanted to.

"Ya' know, I thought it'd be a little more difficult." She commented one day, looking over the lightning rod he had loaned her. It was too large and heavy for her to use effectively, she had to wield the steel pole with both hands to aim it. _If I were in a fight, I would probably just club someone with it,_ she thought, a mental image springing into her head.

The most difficult part had been learning to not use her full force of electrucution. She hadn't wanted to be trained to efficiency in her power because of the pain it brought, but Tempest had explained to her how to avoid it.

"Your body isn't built to handle large amounts of electricity. Neither is mine. It's just the way we're composed. True, the strange effects of our mutation has equipped us to stand a higher voltage than the normal human, but for whatever reason, we can conduct energy faster from the storm than we can really handle. At any rate, the flickering skin is a side effect of too high a voltage. When you or I get feelings of strong emotion, we summon energy from the storm. We can do it on purpose, too, but it happens involuntarily. If you don't check yourself, it goes too fast through you, you get too much voltage and it causes pain. Get it?"

Fidget blinked. "Uh, I think."

Tempest sighed. "Good." He walked off for a moment, and she threw a few crackles of electricity at the wall. When he returned, he was holding two smaller staffs. He held them out to her, and she set his on the table and took them. "I got these for you. You looked a little unbalanced with just one bigger one."

She looked down at her odd little gifts. "Um, thanks." She held them up, experimentally swinging them around and pointing them at various objects without firing. Tempset watched her approvingly. While spinning 180 degrees, she stepped on the back hem of her pants and slipped, sitting down hard. She sat, stunned, for a moment before looking up and grinning at him. "Guess I should rest a little, then." She said, and carried herself and her new toys off to her room.

It was odd, the way she was embracing her powers like this. Such a short time ago, she would have run away and tried to forget they existed. Now...She looked at her gifts again. They reflected the light beautifully, casting odd shadows on the walls. As she stared at them, it occured to her how she used these would put her definitely on one side or the other. If she fired on Asazi, Dr. X, or Tempest, she was the same old Fidget. If she fired on Alex or the others...

She dropped her lightning rods and frowned. Alex and the others. Were they really the 'good guys'? She had fallen down here, been trapped for more than a month. Nobody ever showed up to save her. They didn't care, didn't care at all! How could she have ever sided with them? Tempest was right, Alex was nothing but a jock, obsessed with the publics view of him. As bad as Masters ever was. Well, she would give the public something to dislike him about...

She tingled with energy and took a deep breath. All she needed to do now was fry her radio, her only source of entertainment. A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Uh, come in." she said, glancing around to make sure nothing embarrassing was out before realizing she didn't own anything embarrassing. The door opened and Tempest looked in.

"Um, hey." he said, leaning against the door handle. Fidget waited for it to snap off and wondered in the back of her mind how she would open her door without a handle. She decided not to risk it.

"Here, sit down." She scooted over and made room on the little cot, the only surface suitable for sitting or relaxing at all in the entire room. He did, and she pulled the door mostly closed behind him with her foot.

"I just wanted to tell you, you're doing a great job with your powers. You seem to have a natural talent for it." Tempest said lamely, smoothing her polyester sleeping bag with one hand.

Fidget rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks." She waited for him to say anything else, then snorted. "For god's sake, kid! Have you _ever_ been attracted to _anybody_ before in your entire pathetic life?!"

Tempest jerked and looked at her with wide eyes and a puzzled face. "I...uh..."

"I mean, you can't hide it properly, you can't show it properly! You're stuck in your own little dilemma. I can't stand your half-assed little attempts at conversation, so cut it out or get it right!"

Tempest stared. He took a breath as if to say something, but stopped with his mouth open and no sound coming out. Fidget grabbed his head in her hands suddenly and latched her mouth over his, intending to befuddle him and make him go away. But instead, he kissed her back, and his arms crept up her sides until he was holding her against him. She backed up a little, leaning her head against the back wall, and things may never have stopped if the nylon sleeping bag hadn't suddenly slid off and dumped them both violently on the floor. Fidget's eyes popped open and she stared at Tempest, who stared back with surprise and almost fear. She felt she needed to say something to win back her dignity.

"Well, then...get out of my room!" she said suddenly, waving an arm at the door. Tempest stared a moment longer.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" she yelled, frowning. "Leave!"

Tempest retreated, still looking horibly confused, and left Fidget sitting on the floor and rumpled sleeping bag, along in a former storage closet.


End file.
